


Proving It

by ThirdGenerationRockette



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Post Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 11:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13739592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThirdGenerationRockette/pseuds/ThirdGenerationRockette
Summary: "There's something I need to talk to Pruit about, and I don't know how to broach the subject...he's not exactly the most approachable guy."





	Proving It

**Author's Note:**

> This one basically came from my wishes that we'd had more episodes so the Leona and Mac blossoming friendship could have been explored. They'd have been such an epic team...

Will holds her hand throughout the appointment, squeezing her fingers a little tighter when the grainy image of their baby appears on the screen in front of them, the heartbeat strong, everything looking as it should. This baby may have been a bit of a surprise, something that Mackenzie had wished for but hadn't dared hope might actually happen, but it's so badly what they want and they now find themselves desperate for everything to go well, even if she is managing to play it cooler than Will most of the time. She longs to reach the point where she can feel the baby move, because although she knows he or she is in there, right now she worries that she really has no way of knowing everything is okay. Briefly wondering if it's a ridiculous thought, she remembers that two nights ago Will put down the pregnancy book he's been devouring and told her he can't wait until he can touch her belly and feel their baby move so they know how he or she is doing. Well, if it is a ridiculous thought, at least they're thinking it together.

It hasn't been an easy few weeks, the job has been hard, she was right when she told Will she'd be fighting with Pruit daily, and she hadn't really expected to miss the control room as much as she does, creeping downstairs some days just to stand at the back and watch Jim and the rest of her team at work. She misses Charlie too, some days she forgets he's gone and she makes a note of something she should ask him about, before she remembers the only reason she's up on the 44th floor is because he isn't. The next hurdle, now that they have confirmation that all is fine, that baby McAvoy is healthy and strong, is to tell Pruit, and although Mackenzie's intuition is pretty good in many areas, she has no idea how that conversation might go. Even though the baby is common knowledge amongst the News Night staff (mostly thanks to her endearingly eager husband), they have of course kept their words and the news hasn't made it any further. Mackenzie is thankful for that.

"I need to tell Pruit." She turns to Will as the car pulls up outside AWM. "About the baby." 

"At some point, yeah," Will nods.

"I'm not going to be able to get away with it for too much longer, I don't think. I may not be in maternity wear yet but I've had to buy a couple of bigger skirts already." She pauses. "This baby is going to be fucking enormous. Damn you for being eleven foot tall, Billy."

"It's such a good thing you're not tall too, because that would be...oh, wait." He grins at her as they climb out of the car and head into the lobby.

"You won't be grinning when I'm pushing a ten pound baby out of me and breaking all the bones in your hand while I do," she says, pulling him towards the elevator.

"Should I wait for you after the show tonight, or are you going to head home earlier?" he asks as they step inside.

"Actually, I thought it might be quite nice to go for a drink tonight." She smiles at him. "With the team, I mean."

"Sure, if that's what you want." He pauses as a hand appears to stop the doors from closing and Leona steps into the elevator with them.

"Ah, good." Leona nods at them. "I was just on my way up to see you." 

"Which one of us?" Will asks, his hand squeezing Mackenzie's.

"I'll give you a clue." She raises an eyebrow as she looks at him. "Not you." 

"Is everything okay, Leona?" Mackenzie turns to her, frowning slightly.

"You've been in the job a month now, I thought it would be a good time to drop by, see how it's going, find out if there's anyone you need me to put a hit out on." She smiles, and Mackenzie isn't entirely sure that she's joking.

The elevator reaches the 25th floor and Will slides his hand from Mackenzie's, moving to rest it on her lower back.

"I'll come down after the show, okay?" She smiles at him.

"Sounds good," he says, smiling back and moving closer before remembering Leona's presence and stepping back again, running a hand through his hair.

"Goddamn it, McAvoy." Leona sighs. "Just kiss your wife and get out of here, would you."

"I could remind you that I'm not actually taking orders from you anymore...but I won't," he says, leaning forward and kissing Mackenzie quickly before stepping out of the elevator.

"Could you hold any calls please, while I'm in with Mrs Lansing?" Mackenzie smiles at Millie as they reach her office, and she nods, smiling back.

"How're you doing, Mac?" Leona drops into a seat, fixing her with a steely gaze.

"I'm okay, it's been...interesting. Busy, with so much more paperwork than I ever imagined, and I'm not going to lie, a lot of the financial stuff passes me by. That's what we have accountants for though, right? Anyway, it's been a challenge, a real challenge." Mackenzie finishes, smiling slightly.

"Challenge is good," Leona says, settling back into her seat, pausing for only a split second before she continues. "If I can help at all, you know I'm happy to, right?"

"Actually." Mackenzie bites her lip. "There _is_ something I'd like your advice on, if you wouldn't mind?"

"Shoot." Leona folds her arms across her chest and smiles.

"There's something I need to talk to Pruit about, and I don't know how to broach the subject...he's not exactly the most approachable guy." She takes a deep breath before carrying on. "Look, I'm not an idiot, I know you convinced him to hire me to address his PR problem-"

"Stop right there." Leona cuts in. "I made him aware that his PR problem was caused by the fact that he's a misogynistic ass, and I suggested he hire you because you're the best person for the job. Yes, you happen to be a woman, and hallelujah for that, but this job is yours because you fucking earned it. And because there's nobody else Charlie would have wanted to do it. _Nobody_."

Mackenzie nods, sighing as she stands up and walks over to the window, glancing out before turning back to face Leona. Part of her is furious at how much this is bothering her, that she can't seem to just call him in here and say the words. _I'm pregnant, so I'll be needing a little time off in a few months_. She knows what kind of a man he is, she knows he's probably still wishing Leona had suggested anyone else for the job, anybody else who happened to be male, but here she is, the job is hers and the baby is hers and she needs to make this situation work.

"What is it, Mac?" Leona's voice cuts into her thoughts.

"I'm pregnant," she answers quickly, biting her lip again. "Twelve weeks. Not the best timing, I know. For Pruit, I mean, it's perfect timing for us, for Will and me. I just know he's going to shit the bed about this, and he's probably going to do whatever he can to make this what he needs to prove to himself he made the wrong decision in hiring me, but-"

"Oh, you're wrong about that, Mac. This is going to be the thing he absolutely _can't_ use against you." Leona smiles, clasping her hands together in what Mackenzie thinks is pure glee. "There's not a chance in hell he'd get away with firing a pregnant woman, not to mention that your husband would have his head on a stick if he did, assuming I didn't get to him first."

"I don't know, I..." she stops as the realisation sets in that Leona is probably right. Pruit's image has already taken a beating, helped only slightly when he appointed her, and it would never survive him firing her. "Maybe you're right."

"I'm always right, you'll come to see that the longer you do this job," Leona says, a grin spreading slowly across her face. "Congratulations, by the way. You look great, Mac. Are you feeling alright?"

"I am." Mackenzie nods, smiling back at her. "I feel really good. I've barely been sick at all and when I have it's conveniently been early in the morning before I've had to leave for the office."

"Pretty quick work there, Mrs McAvoy." Leona smiles. "Any faster and the tabloids would have been screaming shotgun wedding."

"Yeah, I know." Mackenzie smiles back, shrugging slightly.

"A McAvoy baby." Leona pauses, shaking her head. "Charlie would have been so, so happy for the two of you."

"I know," Mackenzie says, her smile turning sad. "I wish he could be here for this. You know, if it hadn't been for him, I don't know if we'd be where we are now. Actually. I'm fairly certain we wouldn't. He saw something in us, he knew we were better together than apart, and I just hope he knew how grateful we were..."

"He knew." Stepping closer, Leona takes Mackenzie's hand, squeezing it quickly and smiling at her.

"Thank you." Mackenzie smiles back.

"My advice?" Leona quirks an eyebrow and continues. "Don't make a big deal of it with Pruit. It's a big deal for you, of course it is, and it should be, but for him it should be nothing more than information he needs to know. What I would do is wait until you meet with him next, whenever you're scheduled to, don't ask to see him before then, and just tell him, like it was on the meeting agenda all along. Don't justify yourself, don't feel the need to try to convince him that it won't affect your ability to do your job, just tell him you're pregnant and when the time comes you'll be needing some time off. You don't have to apologise to him for this, do you hear?"

"Yeah," Mackenzie says, nodding as she walks back to sit at her desk. "I can do that. I just hope I can do this...the job, be a mother, it feels like a lot."

"It is a lot, you're not wrong, but you can absolutely do it. I'm pretty sure you could still do this job with a baby in each arm. Fuck, you can do anything." Leona heads for the door, turning back as she reaches it. "You're proving it every damn day. Call me, we'll have lunch next week, alright?"

"I will," Mackenzie smiles at her. "Thank you, Leona." 

"Anytime," Leona waves as she heads through the door.

*

Mackenzie watches the majority of the show on the TV in her office because somehow wrestling with budget sheets is easier when Will's soothing voice is giving her the news, and ten minutes before show end, she calls it a day, grabs her purse and heads for the elevator.

Slipping quietly into the control room unnoticed at first, she's able to stand and watch for a few minutes, feeling herself relax as the familiar sounds draw her in, feeling herself smile as she glances up at Will's face on the monitor. Jim seems to sense her presence and he turns around, smiling as he hits the mute button on his headset.

"Will said you were coming down," he says. "I'm not sure Hang Chews is quite fancy enough for the president of the network."

"No, it's really not." She grins at him. "I can slum it for one night though."

"Checking up on us?" Jim grins back.

"On him." She gestures to her husband on the screen. "He runs home right after the show most nights or comes and drags me out of my office if I'm still there. It's nice, don't get me wrong, most nights I'm half asleep before we even get home, but I want to make sure he isn't neglecting his team in my absence."

"He's really not, Mac, but it's good to see you down here anyway." Jim takes the headset off and hands it to her as she steps closer. "You want to let him know he needs to squeeze the final segment down by fifteen seconds?"

"Sure." She smiles and puts the headset on, flicking the mute switch. "Will? We're fifteen seconds long on the next segment. Can you trim?"

His head whips up and she giggles at the surprised expression on his face, his eyebrows raised. She's done this a handful of times in the last month and it never fails to make her laugh how it still catches him off guard every time.

"Fifteen?" he asks, recovering and smiling into the camera.

"Yeah," she says, glancing over the script Jim has just handed her. "You can take the line with the figures out of the final paragraph, I think, it's not going to lose anything. Or you could just talk faster."

"As entertaining as it might be for people to wonder why I'm suddenly talking like I've been wound up, I'll probably just take out the line." He nods, taking his pen out and scratching through the script.

"Thirty back," she says, pausing before lowering her voice slightly. "Bring it home, Billy." "Copy that," he smiles and she feels herself smiling back even though he can't see her.

*

"I'm hearing great things out of DC, Jim." Mackenzie smiles and puts down her drink on the large table the team has commandeered at Hang Chews for the last couple of hours.

"Yeah." Jim's smile is shy, proud. "She's really loving it."

"And the long-distance thing?" Tilting her head, she frowns slightly. "It's going okay?"

"It's fine." He shrugs. "I mean, sure, it would be easier if we were in the same city, but it's okay. I really think we can do this."

"I know you can." Mackenzie's frown turns back to a smile. 

"What makes you so sure?" Jim asks.

"Because you finally gathered the right rosebuds." Her smile grows wider and she prods his knee playfully. "I won't say I told you so but..."

"You won't?" He grins at her.

"Some things don't need to be said, Jim." She finishes the last of her drink and yawns, covering her mouth quickly. "Sorry."

"Go home, Mac." he takes her empty glass and places it back down on the table. "You must be exhausted."

"Oh, I'm fine. It's just been a long couple of weeks, that's all, with Charlie...and the new job and, you know." She smiles and lays a hand on the tiny bump just beginning to make itself obvious. "It'll settle down soon enough, I think, and everyone says the tiredness passes a little after the first trimester so I should be ready to climb Everest any day now..."

"Well, you look great," Jim says shyly, pausing briefly. "Happy, healthy, you know." 

"Thanks," she says as a yawn takes hold again and Will nudges her, eyebrow raised. "But actually, I think it probably is time I called it a night. I'm not sure the president of ACN should be seen to fall asleep in the middle of a bar."

"I guess not." He smiles as she stands up, pulling Will up by the hand.

"We'll see you tomorrow," she says, looking around the table and smiling at the team.

*

"I told Leona about the baby." She pops her head out of the bathroom and Will looks up from where he's changing. "I thought maybe she'd have some advice on how I go about telling Pruit."

"And I'm sure she did, right?" He walks towards the bathroom, leaning against the door frame and watching as she finishes brushing her teeth.

"Yeah." Pausing, she puts her toothbrush down and passes him in the doorway, clasping his hand and moving them towards the bed. "She said I should just tell him like I would tell him anything else he needed to know, and that I shouldn't apologise or feel like I need to justify this to him."

"So why are you still worried?" he asks, sliding into bed and turning to face her, pulling her closer to him.

"I'm not worried, I'm...can we do this, Will?" She bites her lip and rests her hand on his chest. "We both have really busy jobs, between us we work way too many hours, and in six months we're going to be trying to do it on very little sleep and with a tiny person at home that I'm fairly sure we might want to just gaze at quite a lot."

"Oh, it's _all_ I'm planning on doing." He smiles, sensing her concern. "I'm going to just sit here and gaze at both of you. Fuck the show, fuck work, fuck it all."

"Should we move to the country and raise pigs?" She smiles back at him. "We wouldn't have to abandon the news entirely, we could still _read_ it, and I'm sure even Nowhere, Alabama has TV, right?"

"Right." He leans forward and kisses her. "How long do you think we'd last in this new country idyll of ours? Weeks? Months?"

"About twenty minutes." She laughs at his wounded expression. "Seriously though we can do this, can't we?"

"Not sure about me, but I have no doubts about you," He pauses, slipping his hand under her t- shirt. "You can do anything, honey."

"That's what Leona said." She snuggles closer to him, tucking her head under his chin. "She didn't call me honey though."

"Glad to hear it," he says, kissing the top of her head. "I wouldn't want to have to go head to head with Leona."

"You know what, Billy?" she asks sleepily, continuing before he answers. "If I can do this, so can you. I have faith."

"Why?" he asks, murmuring into her hair.

"I don't know." She sighs. "Something about a boat with holes."

"Alright," he says as he rolls onto his back, pulling her with him and smiling as she rests her head on his chest, the tiny swell of her belly tucked against him.

"Water in," she says, slurring slightly. "Water out. Yeah, we can do it." "Goodnight, honey."


End file.
